Usability Assessment of the Rehabilitation Lower-limb Orthopedic Assistive Device by Service Members and Veterans With Lower Limb Loss — Military Medicine

Symsack A, Gaunaurd I, Thaper A, Springer B, Bennett C, Clemens S, Lucarevic J, Kristal A, Sumner M, Isaacson B, Pasquina P, Gailey R

Telehealth is an increasingly common approach to improve healthcare delivery, especially within the Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense (DoD). Telehealth has diminished many challenges to direct access for clinical follow-up; however, the use of mobile telehealth for specialty rehabilitative care is emerging and is referred to as telerehabilitation. As early adopters of telehealth, the Veterans Affairs and DoD have supported collaborated efforts for programs designed to increase the access and quality of rehabilitative care while improving the functional ability of our service members (SMs) and veterans with lower limb amputation (LLA). The DoD and Veterans Health Administration collaborated on a Mobile Device Outcomes-based Rehabilitation Program (MDORP) to help injured SMs and veterans with LLA. The MDORP project utilized a mobile health system called the Rehabilitative Lower Limb Orthopedic Accommodating Device (ReLOAD) to assess walking quality. The ReLOAD system includes real-time auditory biofeedback to notify the user of their most prominent gait deviation and then recommends exercises that address specific balance and strength impairments. The purpose of this study was to describe the responses to a postintervention survey evaluating the feasibility and usability of ReLOAD completed by SMs and veterans with LLA who used the system for 5 months.

Symsack, A., Gaunaurd, I., Thaper, A., Springer, B., Bennett, C., Clemens, S., Lucarevic, J., Kristal, A., Sumner, M., Isaacson, B., Pasquina, P., & Gailey, R. (2020). Usability Assessment of the Rehabilitation Lower-limb Orthopedic Assistive Device by Service Members and Veterans with Lower Limb Loss. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usaa428